Harry Potter and the Thunderstruck Muggles

Harry was suffering from a bad case of jet lag, reinforced by a bad case of the blues. After waking up as much late as alone in the hotel room, first he had scanned the entire suite for a message left by Cho. Not finding any, he had pestered the reception for a note, an address, any trace. By the time he gave up on that, it had been past noon.

Near the hotel, he had eaten something, with a tast he couldn't remember. Around two o'clock local time, he had apparated home into The Burrow, arriving at ten o'clock. Of course, he hadn't been able to find sleep.

Sitting in his comfortable chair, the Christmas present from the Weasley parents, Harry reconsidered the disastrous evening again and again, after an initial phase of shock, numb and mindless for a long time. Then, slowly, he started a kind of single-member brainstorming - it just couldn't be called meditation, because he wasn't calm enough, not neutral enough, and because it was an afterthought rather than a preparation.

What had gone wrong? Everything. What had he done wrong? Nothing he could put a finger on, only that, basically, he'd been mad as hell all the evening - a wonderful preparation to be told about another man, if only for two weeks in the past, really ... Then who had done wrong?

Harry's mind refused to answer, "Cho." She was trying to get her feet into some business, an awful business actually, so she was howling with the wolves, and he shouldn't be so touchy about a few people with bad manners and the social instincts of a piranha. What had they done to him? Nothing! If you don't like the offer, drop it. If you don't want a blowjob, just say no thanks. What was so difficult about that?

Cho in bed with another man ... What did the thought do to him? Harry tried to be as honest as he could, always with the nagging feeling he couldn't much, but whatever he did, the result was the same. Cho with another man felt like something he could live with, could even think of as a challenge - in general, that was. While this man in particular, this dreamer with his arrogance toward Harry, raised a deep anger, mostly toward the man himself, less toward Cho for her misguided taste. That it hadn't worked out as a happy affair, short and nice, made Harry mad. And that the man seemed unable to accept a No more, according to Cho, made him furious.

For a while, Harry pondered the idea of contacting Tony Chee and signing a contract. This would make him a Hogwarts drop-out, but so what?

With some more sense, he checked the thought to the end and saw the problem. The worst that could happen was a big success, forcing Cho to face Harry Potter Superstar of Hollywood while she was still struggling with her little Groucho company, forever frustrated.

---

So she was trying to profile herself, to throw a shadow even at his side. Having rich parents wasn't enough. Having driven the sharp end of a broomstick through Lucius Malfoy's throat wasn't enough, was a mere footnote to the story how Harry had disempowered Voldemort and won his snake. And her best friend's great success in science and research, while fighting murderers like Warrington in her spare time, while changing her Animagus shape like other people their underwear, wasn't a help either. So, just for starters, Cho had profiled herself with a sex partner of her choice, quite a natural step in this business.

Damn ... If only Cho could apparate, then Harry would have known that she didn't come because she didn't want to.

They should have made love the previous night. Maybe it wouldn't have been the greatest success in their career, but it would have been sex. It would have smoothened some rough edges, and calmed a desire. Only they hadn't, lacking the mood as much as the mandatory state.

When the first crack of dawn appeared over the horizon, Harry apparated to Hogwarts and went to the lake. He swam into deeper water, dived several rounds, feeling weightless in a dark space, which was no longer endless as his getsumai no michi showed him the borders. Still, he could ignore them.

Back in The Burrow, after some sandwiches, Harry felt a light trace of the heaviness required for sleep. And after a while, the bird songs from outside faded to the silence of sleep.

* * *

Harry couldn't remember what had awakened him. In retrospective, he decided it had been his haragei, rather than a noise. Awake, he couldn't hear any unexpected sound, had only the memory of something urgent.

Stumbling downstairs into the kitchen, he found Ginny. About to yawn and smile simultaneously, he finally registered the wave he'd sensed, and it brought him to full alert.

"Ginny - what's wrong?"

"Hello, Harry." Almost tonelessly.

"I didn't expect you back that soon. What happened?"

"Nothing." Ginny had fixed a sandwich and started eating mechanically.

Harry sat down at the table. "C'mon - spit it out."

"Why? The taste's okay."

The joke fell to the floor and died, unmourned from from either side. Harry examined Ginny's face. "How was your trip?"

"Nice." As if referring to yesterday's newspaper.

"Why did you come back?"

"Because it was over."

"Met some people?"

Bingo! While Ginny could hold her face almost neutral, doing the same with her emotions was beyond her scope, not with Harry sensing at high-power level.

"What did they do to you?"

He didn't receive an answer - not in words, that was. Even so, he could feel that something had been wrong in his question because he sensed some relief in Ginny, about him being off the track. So then what ... of course.

"What's his name?"

Ginny bolted up. "Stop it! You and your damn haragei ..." A second later, all energy had lost her. In a moment, she would start crying.

Harry moved closer and put an arm around her shoulder. "It's okay. You're back home, alive and unwell. I'll sit here and wait until you can find the words."

"There's nothing to tell."

Harry shook his head. "I don't need Nagini to know it's not true."

"Maybe not, but ... Harry, please don't ask me, because I won't answer."

Examing Ginny's face again, Harry could see that at least this was true, and awfully wrong. He stood up. "I'm going to shower, and to dress."

When he entered the kitchen again, Ginny was still sitting at the table, looking ahead, the rest of a sandwich forgotten on the table. Harry, in contrast, had made progress, because he knew what to do. He started to cut slices of bread, to fix more sandwiches.

---

Ginny came a bit awake and stared at the pile. "Are you going to eat all that for breakfast?"

"Maybe not for breakfast alone - maybe not alone ... Wait and see."

With little interest, she watched him working. Some minutes later, he was done and had stored the sandwiches in a box. "Here we go. Okay - move that nice ass of yours."

"What for?"

"Pity you can't apparate yet, pity I can't summon yet, so it's the linkport."

"Not me. Have a nice trip."

Harry's head came closer. "You know how you feel? Yes, you know, so I don't need to tell you. And we're going to change that. So, what do you prefer, coming with me on two legs or coming with me stunned and bundled?"

Ginny glanced at him. "Yes, you'd do that. But you'd never get me through the gate, the guards would stop you."

Harry showed a hollow grin. "Me, with my connections to Magical Tours? You know they won't, so get up."

He certainly felt determined enough to try, only he would'nt come through with that. He knew, Ginny knew, so this couldn't be her reason. Curiosity was maybe part of it, more likely the readiness to let someone else, someone trustworthy, take over control. At any rate, she followed him.

"Don't forget your swimsuit."

Ginny nodded, obeyed.

The next obstruction occurred in the linkport, when Ginny saw Harry steering toward the Hogsmeade gate. "Hogwarts? I'm not going to Hogwarts; there's no one I want to meet."

"We're not going into the school. Now c'mon." This was some kind of borderline truth, but the hut wasn't part of the school, was it?

Walking toward the buildings, Ginny stared at him. "Where are we going, if not to the school?"

"It's not the school - that's all I'm telling you."

Now she was really curious.

---

They were close to the hut when a small, light-brown figure appeared in the open door, standing there, motionless, watching them, leaving no doubt it would be a bad mistake to enter this defended area whose borders were visible only to a dog.

Harry stepped a bit closer, until he saw the ears go flat. He called, "Hey, doggie - don't you remember? Come here!"

His voice was enough - a tentative step, listening to his next words, and then there was no stopping. Like a cannonball, the dog shot toward him, yelping, the tail stump wagging, all excitement and happiness while Harry was kneeling and balancing himself for the welcome of this small but powerful dog.

Ginny watched the scene. "Whose dog is this? What's his name? Since when is the hut - "

A voice from behind said, "Of course - didn't I know? With this dog, nobody would ever dare to come close to my belongings, with the one great exception: Harry. As if I hadn't been forewarned - the rule isn't made yet that'll hold for you."

Samantha came closer, smiling. "Howdy, sweetheart. Wasn't God's own country to your taste? That's a real surprise, that is." Then she examined Ginny and added, "Except she's the reason you came back - or did you bring her with you?"

Harry looked up. "Hello, Sam. That's Ginny, my sister since last year. Ginny, this is Samantha, called Sam."

Ginny examined the woman and managed a smile. "Hello, Samantha, nice to meet you. Did you rent the hut?"

Samantha laughed. "You could say that, honey - or just the other way around." Then she saw Harry's entreating look and interpreted it at least well enough not to explain more.

Harry came up and met the glances from a girl and a woman who had in common that they were standing there without knowing exactly what all this meant.

"Sam - Ginny's back from her own tour. Something happened, only she's not going to tell me. But she has to talk with someone - so I thought you were the right person."

Ginny stared at him. "Are you out of your mind?? What makes you think I'm going to talk to a complete stranger? You must be really thick to believe - "

Harry made a calming gesture with his hand. "Wait a minute. It had to do with a man, and what he did to you, so much's for sure ..."

Ginny's expression changed from disbelieving to furious, quite obviously because he was spilling such details in this kind of public.

"... and Samantha's an expert in bad treatment from men. I think you should give it a try."

Speechless, Ginny stared at him, at the woman.

Samantha's voice was neutral. "It's your decision, hon. I know there are things you can tell a bartender and nobody else. There's no bar inside, but a drink's within reach." She turned. "Harry, get lost, and take your time."

He nodded. "Of course."

* * *

For the next two hours, Harry kept working in the training hall, harder than ever. His high kick-jump over the shoulder of that Claude had been the result of last week's exercises - now he intensified the training. Using a dummy in upright position, he placed an empty can on top of its head and trained kick-jumps that would hit this target without touching the dummy. Then, to relax a bit - more his mind than his legs - Harry imagined the dummy as Cho's dreamer, just the right picture to jump less high than before and kick into the face with the full force of his leg.

The exercises were draining his madness, then his boiling anger, finally his own strength. At the end of the two hours, Harry felt calm enough to meet the dreamer again without getting over the fence. The unknown figure in Ginny's tour was a different story.

He showered and dressed, then went out and walked toward the hut. After a few steps, he already had company - the dog, spinning circles, racing forward, coming back, pure energy on four legs.

Samantha was sitting outside, Ginny nowhere in sight. Harry sat down. "I wouldn't mind something wet."

Samantha grinned. "Wet and cold, or ..."

Did he blush? "A drink - just that."

"A beer, or something poisonous like a soda?"

"Soda's fine, thanks."

The dog came along, a small leather ball between his fangs. The appeal was obvious - Harry should throw it.

He had a better idea. Holding the ball on his fingertips, he pointed his wand, shooting the ball flat upward, wider than he'd been able to throw.

The dog shot forward, seemingly faster than the ball. His speed was incredible for these short legs.

Watching, Samantha said, "That would be still an idea how to play baseball, Harry. I mean, the rules say something else, but with you - "

"What's baseball?"

"Ignorant Brit! As a honest Texan, now I'd be supposed to stop talking with you. But I'm not, so let's go ahead."

The dog came racing and stopped in front of Harry - eyes shining, mouth panting, the ball to his legs.

Harry shot again. "Did you give him a name?"

"Sure thing - Lousy's his new name, and he already responds to it."

"Lousy?? What a name for a dog."

"He's not picky about that." Samantha grinned. "You know - I always had this dream, me shouting, C'mon, you lousy bastard, and it would work." She laughed. "And now it really does - thanks to you, Harry."

The dog was back; Harry had to shoot again. "So you two get along, huh?"

"Yep, didn't take long. Either he's been trained, or he's a natural - when this Filch type came along, he made him stop. Then the guy found it appropriate to leave, except that Lousy didn't like it any better than him entering the hut. He had to stay some minutes before I arrived."

Harry laughed and patted the dog, which was back again. "So you've got perfect instincts, huh? Took Filch right the first time you met. Good dog - what, not enough yet? Okay, then." He shot again.

---

Samantha opened a beer for herself. "Ginny's at the lake. Said she'll come back in a while. Nice girl, by the way."

"Did you tell her that?"

"No, I've been listening mostly, and what I said was more the pure and straight kind - I'm not good at sugar-coating, but she wasn't in the mood for that either."

"So she talked to you."

"Yes - after I authentified myself with a few details from your stories, and after I qualified myself with a few details from my stories." Samantha grinned. "She only got shocked afterwards - when she heard I'm the new animals teacher. Damn clever of you, not to tell her - she'd never opened up."

"Can you tell me?"

Samantha hesitated a moment. "Let's say, the outline. She met a man, and they went on tour - on a sailboat, somewhere in the Irish Sea, to have sun, and fun, and a lot of sex. Well, that man turned out to be a control freak, getting a kick from total control, and humiliation ... Basically, that's all - in a way, she was lucky."

"Lucky??"

"Yes, my sunshine, lucky. He didn't really beat her, he didn't really rape her, she's still in one piece and no parts are missing - where I come from, the victims of such cases are usually dead afterwards."

Harry stared at Samantha. "I don't get it, and I'd like to know a bit more how really is not really. This outline's awfully thin."

Samantha waved impatiently. "After a promising start, that man suggested to put in some thrill in their games, with bondage and so. Well, and when Ginny was tied and helpless, suddenly the rules changed - then it was his decision whether to untie her or not ... And he took his time."

Seeing his disbelieving stare, Samantha asked, "Never tried that, Harry?"

"No - and it doesn't sound like a good idea."

Samantha's finger tipped at her temple. "It's all in the head, Harry - what you find deeper down are just tools. Well, some people do it with imagination, and others do it with ropes and handcuffs. But you do that with a partner you can really trust, and that was her only mistake."

"And how did she come free?"

"He untied her - when he had enough, when the game started to get boring. As I said, a control freak - killing her would've been sort of losing control, that's the lucky part."

"And while she was tied?"

Samantha looked expressionless. "No comment."

Harry didn't let go. "You said he didn't really rape her - what does it mean?"

"My God, Harry - you're lying there, tied, and all you want is to be freed, but instead the guy's having his fun. Technically that's rape, except that in the beginning you agreed. It's deeply humiliating, but rape is when the judge says it's rape. Got the picture now?"

"Yes, I think so ... Did she tell you his name?"

Samantha grinned wryly. "No. She was afraid I'd tell you, and then you'd go and kill him."

Harry's voice was growling. "That's a realistic concern, and if Ron's ever going to hear about that, we'd be two - four, with the twins."

"But he isn't, nor are the twins - whoever they are." Samantha stared at him. "Is that understood, Harry?"

It took him a moment to realize that this had to be rated as a compliment, while at the same time Harry registered the familiar burden of knowing something not to be told anyone else.

He nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

"Okay then. I'd rather you'd have a look after her - now, while I'm getting some steaks ready. You know how long they take - don't come back too late."

---

Harry remembered some sandwiches and told Samantha.

She said, "That's good to know, Harry, really. In case the steaks evaporate, we won't starve - otherwise, maybe the dog's interested in them."

Harry grinned. "It was kind of better safe than sorry. Mind if I take Lousy with me?"

Samantha smiled. "As if I had a saying in that - look at him, he knows exactly that he's in for a walk."

She was right - the dog kept dancing and yelping since Harry had stood up. He stored the ball in his pocket and knelt down, his arms outstretched. "C'mon, Lousy - time for a jump."

Next moment, he had the dog in his arms, and a second later, he stood in some distance from their usual place - far enough to give Ginny some time for recognizing him, settling her face, maybe also her mood.

While walking the last part, he threw the ball into the lake - this time with his arms, and the dog jumped in, paddled out, fetched the ball, paddled back, to drop the ball for another throw, however only after a thorough shaking of its body, spreading drops all over Harry.

He reached Ginny, who had been watching the tireless dog. He knelt down and hugged her. Not knowing what to say, he kept silent, which was good as well, the message was understood even so, as he could feel when she returned the hug.

The dog came along, ball in its fangs, to drop it, and to spread water over both of them.

Ginny squeaked, almost a normal sound.

Harry stripped down to his swimsuit and jumped into the water. Lousy found this still more exciting and joyful than ball catching and followed eagerly, looking worried only when Harry dived, so he stayed on the surface.

A moment later, Ginny joined them. Pack-swimming was not only Lousy's greatest delight, it seemed just addictive.

After having splashed and paddled long enough, they climbed out. Ginny had used a broomstick from the school stock; she arrived at the hut seconds after Harry had returned with his clothes in one arm and Lousy in the other. They were just in time, with the first two steaks due.

It was two steaks versus three people and a dog. "Ladies first," said Harry.

"Guests first," said Samantha.

"Older people first," said Ginny.

"First suggestion first," said Harry, and the two women had the good sense to stop the competition and grab their steaks.

Harry saw the opportunity for clearing an issue. "Sam - I was trying to figure a way how to balance out ... I mean, you're feeding me for days already, and now it's two people - "

Between bites of steak and gulps of beer, Samantha found the time to say, "Sorry, but the sandwiches didn't work out."

A giggle from Ginny.

"Of course not" - Harry was blushing - "they weren't planned - " He was stopped by Samantha's grinning. "I mean ... er, you know what I mean."

Samantha looked serious. "Stop that bullshit, buddy. I was facing some dreadful weeks until terms would start, and look what I got - a dog for company all day long, and people to join me in the evening, and to tell me fascinating stories. So stop bickering about a few steaks and tell us about your trip to this wonderful land where it's your own fault if you don't come out millionaire."

"It was California, actually."

Samantha rolled her eyes. "Oh my ... Poor Harry."

"Yeah, that's about the short version."

"How exciting! And now the long one, please."

---

"It was in Santa Monica. Did you ever meet movie people?"

Samantha, chewing, shook her head.

"Praise yourself lucky. Liberal's one thing, but their style, if you can call it style - it started in a fashion shop where I got some fancy clothes for that occasion - Gerry's. He was very interested in me, though I not in him. Well, we got along even so. But then ... I'd say, a nice offer for something during which it's impossible for them to talk was still the politest form of conversation."

Samantha asked, "Man or woman?"

"Both."

"Why do you complain? Doesn't sound too bad - from my perspective. So far, I found myself mostly at the other side of the offer."

However, Samantha seemed not entirely serious, it sounded more like a reminder toward Ginny that sexual harassment came in all shades, at all places.

Harry said, "I got an offer to play in a movie." He described the scene with this Claude and Tony Lee, and how Cho had stepped in to cancel the negotiations.

Ginny asked, "How's Cho doing?"

"Well ..."

After a moment, in which he didn't continue, Samantha asked, "Has this been the short version, Harry?"

"Er - yes, in a way. She's trying to sell spector technology, except nobody's interested. I thought - when the three of them started this company, I figured it was to make spector movies. Now ... I guess she's trying to make the big step first. It's ..." He shook his head. "It was a horrible evening, and ..."

The unfinished sentence hung in the air.

After a moment, Samantha said, "And this seems to be an evening of outlines." She pointed to the grill. "But this steak's more than an outline, so go and get it."

Harry did - grateful for something to eat, as delicious as this piece, more grateful to have a full mouth which couldn't answer.

Samantha asked Ginny about the Weasley family, certainly with genuine interest, however changing the topic quite on purpose. Ginny listed her brothers, whether dead or alive, from Bill, the oldest, to Ron, the youngest. She finished, "Well, and then came Harry - so in a way, he's my youngest brother."

"And the closest." Samantha's voice was matter-of-fact, rather than asking.

Ginny blushed.

Harry said, "Closest isn't the proper term. It's more ... well, we can talk with each other like with nobody else - about everything, no matter what. Somehow, it developed like that."

Samantha kept her comment short. "That's rare."

Then it was time for Lousy's share, nominally left-overs, however with quite some meat still at the bones, and it was Ginny who wanted to feed the dog.

"Another hole in my security guard," said Samantha. "I wouldn't know why anyone wanted to break in here, but if it ever happens, I'll come to you two. Nobody else would come past Lousy alive."

The conversation went hovering for some more time, keeping to unsuspicious topics, then it was time to catch the last portal back to The Burrow - early for Harry's usual standard, just in time before some carefully avoided topics were growing too big.

At home, Ginny was lingering around for a while, maybe in search for a start to talk with him, maybe waiting for his questions, or explanations, then she said good night and went upstairs.

* * *

Harry tried to read, but found his mind drifting off to events outside the book. He dropped the book and tried to think something positive, but found his mind drifting off to images in which he had cornered a figure without a face, without a name, and was ready to do whatever he felt suitable. Following this thought, he decided this figure would survive the encounter - to remember a lesson never to forget.

This thought felt very positive.

Harry went to bed, to think leisurely about methods how to teach a control freak a lesson. Lying in the dark, he sensed through the house, more exactly toward Ginny's room. The result wasn't satisfying. He went out of the bed, out of his room, to Ginny's door, listening.

No sound.

He opened the door, tiptoed to her bed, and found her awake, eyes open, wet from tears.

He sat down at the bedside and kept his voice low. "Hi ... It felt as though I should pass by and have a look at you."

"I must look terrible." In spite of her words, Ginny seemed very grateful for his visit.

Registering that, Harry knew what had to be done. "It's dark enough, and this'll have settled in a day or so. But I figure you want to feel normal again until the others come back. There's no need for them to know, am I right?"

Ginny nodded, while Harry could sense how much the thought was frightening her. He said, "So we have to put you back in shape. Move a bit."

She looked startled. "What for?"

"You'd never guessed - to make room for me, so I can come in."

She looked no longer startled, now she was terrified. "What do you have in mind??"

"I'm going to repair the damage you're suffering from. I don't know exactly how, but for starters, we'll talk a bit. You're so jumpy, you'd go through the ceiling at the slightest touch, so that's the first thing we'll settle ... Now, what about a bit of bedspace?"

Ginny seemed to agree to the need, however not the possibility, or the method. At any rate, she retreated - almost to the other end.

Harry climbed in and inched a bit closer to touch her. She didn't jump, she just felt stiff like a plank.

"By the way," he said, "I didn't tell everything of my trip to California. Cho - she told me about an affair with another man. The good news, it's over. The bad - obviously it was a mess."

He felt how Ginny was tensing more, this time from surprise. Then she relaxed a bit, although without turning. "Really?"

"Yep ... Said she wanted to find out how it is with someone else, before ... Well, she did."

"And now?"

"And now? Now she's wiser than before."

"No, I mean - what about you?"

"I'm still trying to figure out what it means to me. What upsets me most is that it was such an unhappy affair. You know - if Cho would have said, I met a man, and we had fun, and now it's over - then I could compare it to Tamiko, and maybe I'd have a problem with it, but ..."

Ginny's voice was thoughtful. "Maybe she made the same mistake."

"Mistake?"

"I was stupid, Harry - so stupid. That's one of the things I've trouble to cope with - how can one be so stupid?"

"In what sense?"

Rage was burning in her voice. "It didn't come entirely out of the blue - there were signs, small forewarnings - except clever me ignored them, clever Ginny was sure she could handle that ... Only she was wrong."

Harry pulled her closer, held her tighter. "So you've made a mistake, and now you pay for it. Okay, that happens - you're strong enough to store the lesson where it belongs."

"I thought I could get along with it. I wanted - all I had in mind was having sex - day in, day out, hopefully till the end of vacation. And then ..."

She was tensing again in his arms, her voice a bare whisper. "You know what was the worst? I was lying there, and after some time I had to pee, but of course he didn't let me go. I could hold it for a while, but then ... And he was watching. Then he cleaned up some, and cleaned me, and then he ..." She started to tremble. "And he didn't stop until ... I climaxed even then, and that's - " Her whisper broke in a painful crying.

---

Harry waited until the sobbing had ebbed, all the while thinking that the lesson for that man definitely needed a careful planning. Then he said, "Ginny - you can't avoid peeing when the pressure's high enough, and you can't avoid an orgasm if the stimulation's strong enough."

"Yeah, sure, but - I feel dirty, of a kind that can never be cleaned away." She was crying again.

Selecting his words carefully, Harry said, "I know what - I mean, I didn't know in detail, but I could feel that it's something like that. That's why I'm here, and together we'll find a way - to make sure you'll feel clean again. I think I know what you're scared of most - you think you'll never again enjoy sex - am I right?"

He was, getting the answer more in his haragei than through anything else.

"You're wounded, Ginny - not outside, but it's a wound like any other. Did I ever tell you how we handled Almyra's wounding when she was hit by that harpy on our owl patrol? It was an outside wound, simpler in a way, but it was heavy, and we had no way back with her in that state..."

Harry described how he and Cho were holding guard over a severely injured Almyra, from late in the evening till early in the morning, until the wound had closed sufficiently so that they could travel back to Hogwarts, two humans on broomsticks, each of them carrying an owl. He finished, "I'm not Madam Pomfrey, but for cases like this here, I'd say I'm better suited."

A little hope in Ginny's voice. "And how do you want to cure me?"

"Dunno yet ... For example, by telling you it's the intention that counts. This man didn't want to give you joy, he just wanted to humiliate you. And you didn't want to climax, you only couldn't avoid it."

"Yes, I know, but knowing's one thing, and feeling's another."

"Of course. That's why the cure must give you back the proper feeling."

"And how?"

The sound of her voice made clear that Ginn'ys question had to be rated as rhetoric, rather than literal. After a moment, Harry said, "I'll do whatever it takes to settle that."

Ginny turned a bit, to look at him. "I know what you're thinking, and you know what I'm thinking. Harry, I wanted this for quite some time - it's nothing new to you, but now that's the last thing I have in mind."

"Then we're complementing each other. It wasn't my intention ever before, while now - as I said, I'll do whatever it takes."

Ginny turned again and pressed her back against him. "But not tonight. Hold me, send me your strength. Harry - in Hogwarts, I'll pester you and Kenzo and whomever until my own haragei is up to the task, and until I can open locks with my mind."

Harry smiled in the dark. "It's okay - but you know what's needed to open a lock for the first time, don't you?"

Something like a giggle. "We'll find a way - and now let's sleep."

* * *

It was almost noon when Ginny's voice broke through the last remnants of his sleep. "Harry - get up, and get out - I want to dress in my own room."

Opening his eyes, Harry saw a figure in a bathrobe, looking somewhat embarrassed, while otherwise worlds better than the evening before.

He giggled. "I have a few remarks about that, but all of them are better kept unsaid."

She came closer and bent down to plant a kiss on his nose, smelling of shower and shampoo and young, healthy skin. "Thank you. And of course she was right."

"Huh?"

"Samantha. You are my closest brother - only a bit sleepy."

"Sleepy? Okay, I slept long, but what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, basically." Ginny blushed. "Only - if you'd been awake a while ago ... But maybe it's better that way." And up she was, and out of the room.

At the breakfast table, she looked almost her normal self, while Harry read the Daily Prophet, which seemed to fill the most eventless time of the year with reports of funny encounters between wizards and Muggles.

Breakfast done, Ginny looked at him. "Okay, Harry - this is day one of my training, and you're my teacher. So what's on the schedule?"

He examined her. "Before we come to that, let me say something what's on my mind, and what you should know. I'm going to think long and hard about how to teach someone a lesson - something never to forget, and maybe good enough not to play certain games ever again. Once I know what kind of lesson this'll be, I'll ask you for a name."

Ginny's lips tightened. "I won't tell. I don't want to see him again, hear his name again - "

"You don't have to see him again. Ginny - I just wanted to tell you that I'm not going to kill him, but to teach him. There are other girls, or women, who might benefit."

"You can't make the world better - isn't it enough to deal with Voldemort?"

Harry grinned. "I've got spare time, as you see - and besides, for my sister ..." Then, serious again, "But to answer your question, and as lesson number one for today - don't push it away. Go through it - okay, maybe not immediately, but scan it in time, to recognize what happened, where you made the wrong decision, and why. That's extremely important, for mastering this experience, but still more as a basic principle."

Ginny swallowed. "Do I have to?"

Harry nodded vigorously. "As I said - take your time, but it's mandatory. Look - it's correct to call it training, but fundamentally it's just uncovering buried skill. It's all inside you, and there's no doubt it's there. Haragei means no more than listening to all signals, and taking all of them seriously. In a way, it's just a mind which is totally open, and totally balanced. How could you ever manage if you lock away some memory - in particular one that can tell you a lot?"

---

There was wondering in Ginny's voice. "I wasn't aware ... I always thought it's something like aikido - you can move and jump, but then you see how it has to be coordinated to greater effect."

"Sure, in a way it is. Maybe - remember how it started with aikido? First we had to learn how to fall - knowing that, we were no longer afraid hurting ourselves in a jump - no matter how we come down. Well, with haragei it's similar - once you can be honest toward yourself, face your own emotions, you can do the same toward others."

"Totally honest? That sounds frightening."

"Only at the beginning. I didn't say you have to walk around trumpeting the truth to people not wanting to hear, but stop pretending toward yourself. By the way, it's surprising how often people know already, except they don't want to know that they know."

"Hmm ... Give me an example."

Harry looked in her eyes. "Shall I?"

Ginny's eyes widened a bit. After a moment's hesitation, she had found the courage. "Yes."

"You love me. Most likely, you'll never stop doing that. You know. I know. Cho knows - "

A gasp. "Does she?"

"Yes. We're not discussing it during the meals, but it's a known fact. Ma Weasley knows ..."

Ginny looked almost panic-stricken.

"... and now guess what Samantha had in mind with yesterday's remark?"

"Oh my God ..."

Harry smiled, somewhat sadly. "You see - it's new only for Samantha, who never saw you before, while the others can live with that, and why not, it's not their problem."

"And Ron?"

Harry shrugged. "He's not blind, not stupid, so I guess he knows. There's no reason for him to worry, and he has no solution for this problem, so he buries his knowledge somewhere inside - it's not on his to-do list - this is just an example how people know without wanting to know, thereby taking the risk of a wrong decision because they've pushed away some facts that might play a role ... Well, a functioning haragei is a high-speed mechanism to register facts and to take them into account."

Ginny exhaled deeply. "Whew ... All right, got the message, although I'll have to chew on it still for a while."

Harry grinned. "Yeah, welcome to the club. Now for today, what about a long training in the hall, and then - oh yes, a diving tour in the lake. Ever tried Gillyweed? I have enough for both of us. And then sitting with Samantha, talking - she's a good trainer in facing facts, isn't she?"

"Oh yes, she is."

"And her steaks - and Lousy ..."

Training together was considerably more fun. Responding to the actions of another individual - Harry became aware that Ginny was using the opportunity, and him, to work out accumulated rage and fury, and he restricted himself mostly to defenses, even when some inaccuracy opened chances for counter blows.

After a while, Ginny noticed it. "Hey, lazybag - is this a training, or what?"

"I wanted to wait till your boiling has faded a bit."

A short grin. "Seems to be the day for missed opportunities - you've had your chance." And now she was attacking with more concentration than before, forcing him to use his full skill.

---

When they had finished for the day, Ginny wanted to go straight to the lake. Harry stopped her. "Not yet - shower, tub, and steam room."

"What? On such a hot day?"

"Yes - there's a cold water tub, too."

"But why?"

"For many reasons. One of them is - if we're going to dive now, it's very likely you'll get a cramp in the middle of the lake, and that's not a good place for it."

"And the others?"

"You said you feel dirty. It's very difficult to feel dirty after five minutes in the steam room."

There was still another reason. As Harry had suspected, Ginny felt embarrassed from the simple presence of two naked bodies in the same room. He stopped her. "Why are we here?"

She understood immediately and gave him a shy grin. "Yes, I know. All right - quite open-minded and honest - seeing you, I was thinking of something other than a dive in the lake." Then she quickly disappeared in the shower.

He called after her. "Now if this isn't progress, then I don't know."

The diving tour in the lake provided a thrilling experience for Ginny, in particular since she wanted to investigate the weed-covered ground closer, promptly running into a nest of Grindylows. After Harry's warnings before, she knew what to do, and he could watch idly as her spells shot streams of boiling water until the last angry water demon fell behind.

Ginny also wanted to see the Merpeople. However, after passing some of them, and after exchanging some friendly waves, this had been enough excitement for the day, leaving sufficient time to reach the lakeside close to the school before the gill-breathing faded out.

Lousy, beyond himself of joy, greeted them first, Samantha moments later. While Harry busied himself shooting balls for the dog, the woman inspected Ginny. "I knew a T-bone steak's healthy," she said, "but I didn't know it's that healthy. Honey, you're almost in time for the next dose."

Ginny laughed. "That's what I had in mind - and maybe a beer, too."

"That's my girl - a reasonable drink, not this nose detergent Harry's always asking for."

Grinning, Ginny glanced at Harry. "Well, he once had a bad experience with alcohol - since then, he's very reluctant in that direction."

"What a nonsense - according to that logic, you had to live in chastity as of now. Mistakes are there to be made, and to learn from."

Ginny's grin had narrowed a bit at these words, however without disappearing entirely.

"Funny," she replied, "that's exactly what he told me - another proof that those who can't do teach - oops, present people always excluded, of course - erm, no, I mean present women excluded."

Samantha laughed joyfully, maybe a bit more than the joke was worth, maybe delighted more from seeing a young girl recover so quickly. She looked at Harry. "So - what can you say to your defence, defendant?"

Harry shot the next ball before responding. "Maybe I can live without alcohol."

Smiling, Samantha raised her can. "I'll drink to what you've said, and I'll drink to what you've left out."

Ginny raised her own can. "Me too."

Samantha said, "Since today I can have two opinions, I'd like to hear a bit more about the school, and the other students. If they're all as tough as you two, then I'm in for a hard time."

Hearing that compliment, Ginny looked pleased. "Relax - Harry's an exception, the others are pretty normal."

Harry disagreed. "Normal, huh? Like Rahewa, for instance."

Samantha asked, "Who's Rahewa?"

Harry grinned. "A perfectly normal twelve-year-old, with a perfectly normal twin-blade knife of about four inches - the blade, not counting the handle - "

Ginny cut in. "Yes, and you shouldn't talk bad about Harry in her presence, Sam, because otherwise you'll find her at your neck - I mean, with that knife in front."

Samantha looked from one to the other, decided they weren't kidding, and sighed. "Okay, got the picture ... Some other unremarkable students I should know about?"

A moment later, they realized that Samantha was not yet fully aware of Hogwarts' most dominant organization structure - the four houses. And from then till the time of the last linkport jump, they were talking about Gryffindors and Slytherins, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, about the House Cup, the Quidditch Cup, and how teachers always had to be judged with respect to the houses they represented - like Snape, for example, even someone as straight as McGonagall.

It had been a splendid evening. Harry and Ginny told Samantha they would probably see each other only at the beginning of terms, since the rest of the Weasley family was expected tomorrow or day after tomorrow, then they hurried to the Hogsmeade linkport.

* * *

In The Burrow, Harry expected to finish the evening with a more private conversation. Ginny however, here in the house more self-conscious than at Hogwarts, soon disappeared to her own room. After checking some books, not finding anything worth the time, Harry went to bed.

Terms would start in a few days. Time to clear his mind about what he planned to do in this last year. What he needed was a goal - something to carry him forward, to prevent the feeling that his year was wasted, that he'd be better off playing the All-American Dream Boy for Tony Chee, always in the hope he might meet Cho around the next corner.

Where was a goal waiting for him? Not in Charms - Apparition done, summoning still open, and portkey programming, but there was nothing exciting in that. Not in Potions either - fuming poison balls was a topic good to fill the year - not to forget travels to Haiti - but not more. Not in Defence against the Dark Arts either - not for him who could have challenged the teacher's role in this course. Maybe -

The door of his bedroom opened. Bare feet tapped on the rug, coming closer. And there stood Ginny - outlined by the light from the window behind, a light which fell on angles and curves of a body as bare as her feet.

"Okay, doctor," she said, "here I am - er, and already undressed." Her voice was a bit unsteady, her nervousness palpable.

Harry inched aside, making room for her. "Come in."

Ginny hesitated. "Are you sure?"

He wasn't sure, not at all. Rather than answering, he opened the bedcover, and she slid under it.

He moved one arm under her neck. When his other hand came to rest on her stomach, he felt her twist, felt the tension in her. He whispered, "Take it easy. We have all the time of the world, and whatever's going to happen won't happen fast."

Her voice was small. "No, we don't have all the time - only till tomorrow morning, right?"

"Yes."

"That's why I came now - although, I'm sure, even if we had ten days, I'd have come only at the last possible instant. I'm a bit - no, I have to be honest. I'm scared, it's much worse than the first time ..."

His hand didn't move. "Why?"

"Because ... because I don't know what'll happen - I mean, how I react. And because it's you - could be I'm going to panic in the middle of ... and I don't want to panic - not with you."

A smile in his voice, Harry asked, "You mean, panicking with someone else isn't that bad?"

A nervous giggle. "No, it's not, but - you know what I mean."

"Yes, I know. Still - please tell me."

Ginny started to speak, stopped, swallowed, started again. "I ... I had this picture in my mind, often enough: how I come into your room, naked, and you're awake, and you look at me, and ... I didn't think it would ever happen, and suddenly ... But now it's coming true, except ... I don't want to spoil it - this is the last chance, so ..."

He moved a bit closer. "We're not going to spoil it - I promise you."

"Harry - how is it for you?"

"Well, I'm a bit nervous too. You're my first girl, so to speak."

"You're not doing this just for curing me, do you?" There was a deep plea in her voice.

"No. Curing you, that's the justification so I can do it, while otherwise ... I'm not loving you like I love Cho, or like you love me, but my feelings for you are deep enough. And besides - I'm trying to keep my hand quiet, until ... What I'm feeling there is very inviting - you know, I'm not used to young girls, so that's all new to me."

A short giggle. "Then maybe you shouldn't keep that hand so quiet."

---

But as soon as his hand touched her more intimately, Harry felt her freeze. His mouth was on her ear. "I know what's wrong - we're unbalanced."

"What?" Startled.

"I'm still dressed, and you're not. We have to change that." After a moment in which neither was moving, he added, "You have to change that."

At her first movements, Ginny's hands were trembling. Until she had freed him from his night dress, the panic was gone. She looked at him, not knowing how to proceed further.

"Put yourself onto me ... And now keep still."

He was feeling her weight. After a while, he could feel a slight change in her mood, something like intimacy - just a closeness, far from arousal.

Then Ginny looked up. "Doesn't work ... I'm sorry." He could hear the tears rise in her voice.

"Wait - wait. No need to hurry. Come to my side." He held her close to him. "This morning - was it true, if I'd been awake?"

"Yes, I think so - no, I'm sure."

"Well, then ... Let's talk for a while."

"About what?"

"Stories. I know a story about a wet dream. Interested?"

She hesitated. "I'm not sure."

"It had to do with someone who was scared too, and in some kind of shock, and when the dream was over, this someone had recovered enough to go through the day, and to fight, until the terrible days ended."

Ginny looked at him, seemed to have an idea where this story had happened, and was suddenly very interested. So Harry told her about the dream which had been dreamed by Deborah, and by himself.

For a moment, Ginny seemed stunned. Then she asked, "Does Cho know?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"Well - it didn't exactly make her day, but she wasn't furious."

"If ... if we - if this here ever leads to something, would you tell her?"

"I'm not going to lie to her. If she would ask ..."

Ginny examined his face. "You aren't scared of anything, are you?"

"Sure I am - but not of the truth. I've stopped that some time ago - especially if I can stand to what I did, and would do the same again."

She exhaled. "Okay ... Let's give it another try."

"Oh my!" He chuckled. "This sounds as though we have to do an O.W.L. in sex. How shall I ever get ready, if you know what - "

She was angry. "Stop it! It's not funny."

His hand, ever so lightly, was caressing her breasts. "Maybe not, but laughing's better than crying. All right, let's get serious - what can I offer, madam? Missionairy position - a tergo ..."

Giggling. "Harry, you're impossible! You sound like a used car salesman, not like someone who's supposed to seduce me."

"In this case, let's try a brand-new model! Tell me - what do you want me to do? Something new, not charged with a bad memory?"

After a moment of silence, even her whisper sounded self-conscious. "Yes, there's something ..."

Harry felt first responses to his stroking. "Then tell me."

"It's ... no, I can't."

He had an idea, was actually pretty sure. He pushed off the bedcover, exposing her full body. His mouth was caressing, sucking, licking - her nipples, moving along her chest, stomach, downward, reaching her thighs. Changing position, he started a new journey from her thighs upward. He felt no protest, only a growing expectation, a rising thrill.

---

When his lips touched her core for the first time, he heard a deep sigh, felt how the last tension was fading from her, replaced by devotion, opening to a new pleasure.

His lips trailed around, across, resting for a moment, to inhale the faint scent of musk, to feel a slight tremble in her, his own body responding with growing arousal. Then his tongue ploughed through the furrow, opening her lips, raising a moan, went further upward, circling a tiny spot - and again, and again.

Her arms were lying to her side, powerless, hands fluttering in tiny movements.

His hands inside her thighs, he parted her wider. His mouth inches away from her wet, open center, he sent his breath, as though blowing out a candle light, only this flame was burning stronger and stronger, Ginny's own breath in ragged gasps when his tongue resumed its tender work.

Close to the peak, he stopped again, for a torturing moment, let his finger circle around, gently tabbing a tiny piece of rapid pulsing, coming down again, trailing to the other end.

She was racing through the last steps, her hoarse groans growing deeper, longer. His arms around her thighs, his mouth covering her open core, alternately licking and sucking, he felt her reach the summit, explode in a long moment of an almost motionless crescendo, interrupted by sharp twists racking through her body, then she went slack.

Next moment, her arms were waiting for him. "Come ... come inside me."

He pushed through coolness into heat, a heat which was burning him in a firestorm, while her arms were pulling him as tight as they could, her mouth close to his ear issuing sighs of satisfaction, as a response to his moaning, his thrusting which quickly culminated in his own moment of eternity, his last sharp twists before tensing in the final shot.

Then he was lying at her side again, held her in his arms, her head at his chest, some tears in her eyes, this time no reason to worry, quite the opposite.

He stroked her hair, not used to its lightness and shortness. "Was it what you had in mind?"

"Yes. It was so wonderful! I - " She stopped.

"Say it."

"I love you."

He pressed her against him. "If I said the same to you, it would be the truth, only these words are reserved for - "

"I know - it's okay."

It wasn't - not quite, but this was the best they could achieve.

Her fingers were playing over his skin. "This wasn't a dream. I'm fully awake - but it's what I have dreamed of. Is this shameful, Harry?"

"Sorry, you ask the wrong person for that. But even so, think twice before asking someone else."

He felt her chuckle. "I won't - although, I'd know someone I could ask that."

"And I'd know two."

"Two? I was thinking of Samantha - who's the second?"

"Remember your sister-in-law?"

"Oh ... Yes, you're right, only I never talked with her about such things. But you did, didn't you?"

"Yes - I don't dare to think what I would've done without her advice."

She hugged him again. "And I don't know what I would've done without your - er, cure. Thank you, Harry."

He smiled. "It was a pleasure - oh yes, it was."

She looked at him. "Was it?"

"Yes, didn't you feel it? I can't fake - "

She smiled. "No, that's not what I mean. This is our first and our last night together, right?"

"Yes."

"But the night isn't over yet." Suddenly, she was up, and then she was on top of him. "Doctor, I feel there a terrible pain - and what's more, right now I feel something else that might hurt - we should do another treatment, just to be on the safe side ..."